Relish   

225 Wythe Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11211
718-963-4546

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Relish is dark. So dark that a waiter shines a flashlight at a stand of wine bottles to read the label; so dark that a diner has to use a candle to see if her succulent double-cut pork chop is cooked all the way through. If dark seems like a pejorative, try noirish: At night the streetlights cast camera-ready venetian-blind shadows over the burgundy booths at this gorgeous converted Williamsburg diner. Comfort food rules here: meatloaf, roasted chicken, sirloin burgers, boxing glove-size steakhouse salads of iceberg lettuce and bleu cheese. Sides of spinach, cornbread and potato pancakes are heavy on flavor -- and butter. Sandwiches, eggs and lighter fare are on the brunch and lunch menus. The long lunch counter doubles as a bar, and Relish obliges with a slate of specialty cocktails, including the Brooklyn -- a bourbon Manhattan with a shimmer of maraschino cherry juice. The varied and inexpensive wine list is well suited to the simple, robust flavors on the menu. -- Adam Mazmanian